– Non-Spoiler and Spoiler Review –
After months of waiting, including an unforeseen delay, The High Republic publishing initiative finally begins! Light of the Jedi, written by Charles Soule, is the opening salvo for the entire project, building out a galaxy 200 years before the prequels, introducing us to its key players and conflicts, and setting the stage for what’s to come. Soule accomplishes those numerous goals with Light of the Jedi, and then some, plus provides a riveting, excellent Star Wars adventure which effectively builds hype for the rest of the initiative.
With the burden of setting the stage for the rest of The High Republic, you’d think Light of the Jedi would be a hefty, dense tome with tons of exposition and overloaded with details of all shapes and sizes, which does not sound like a fun start to, well, anything beyond a 14 book fantasy series. Thankfully, LotJ balances the act of setting up the era, like the little and big details, with introductions to tons of characters and somehow manages to avoid being a tome-sized work and be a thrill-ride of a story from start to finish. It helps the era is being built across other books and comics, like A Test of Courage, which launches the same day as LotJ, or The High Republic series from Marvel launching later this month, so the burden is spread out amongst the releases and gives Soule some room to focus more on a fun, sprawling tale rather than the particulars. If you’ve read the opening 8 chapters, a gift to readers prior to its release, or through the sampler of all the opening works, LotJ’s pace stays roughly the same throughout, which is a particular skill of Soule’s in his previous original novels, and while it dips and slows shortly after the Great Hyperspace Disaster’s first strike is resolved, building up the Nihil and more characters you’ll meet and follow, it kicks back into high gear and doesn’t let up afterwards.
Some 200 years prior to the prequel era, the Republic is at peace and using the time wisely, as Chancellor Lina Soh expands their borders and builds Great Works, including the Starlight Beacon, set to bring the light of the Republic to the Outer Rim. Before it’s completed, disaster strikes, as the passenger ship Legacy Run tears apart in hyperspace, trying to avoid an object hurtling towards it, and pieces emerge from hyperspace at random and unpredictable times and places, creating fear and destruction throughout the Outer Rim. The Jedi and the Republic, who work side by side, though the Jedi remain independent and may do as they wish, happen to be close enough to an Emergence in the Hetzal system, managing to save the system from catastrophic destruction in an impressive display of the Jedi’s abilities during this era and the Republic’s expansive resources. As a Republic task force tries to understand how it happened, and prevent it in the future, a threat lurches out from the shadows: the Nihil, a group of marauders, whom take and destroy at will and whim. They aren’t directly related to the Great Hyperspace Disaster, but they are taking advantage of it, causing mayhem regardless, which puts them into the sights of the Jedi and Republic. As the Nihil clash with the two connected forces, the rush to prevent more disaster gains desperation, not just to save more lives, but for political reasons too, as what good will the Starlight Beacon and Republic assistance to the Outer Rim be if they can’t tackle this emergency?
LotJ lacks a main character, but I felt like this was the right decision, as it would be very limiting to focus on only one or two characters and attempt to fill in and give perspective to the era and its big, galaxy changing events. Instead, it has an abundance of characters’ points-of-views, whose lives and decisions impact and react to the changing galaxy around them, pushing along the plot more than the plot ever pushes them around, if at all. Several characters are recurring POVs, but even the one or two chapter POV characters manage to feel as fleshed out, relatable, and/or compelling to read as the more frequent ones. I managed to get attached to most of the characters, even rooting or begrudgingly enjoying the villains, and Soule adds plenty of effective tension with his penchant for killing off many of them, even ones you’d not expect, but that never stopped or prevented me from trying to root for them all (to some extent). If there wasn’t more material set in the era, all telling a connected, interwoven story, I’d be concerned about the various POV switches or character turnover to some extent, but regardless Soule’s style takes me back to reading A Sword of Fire and Ice series, more commonly known as Game of Thrones, for how it jumps characters and isn’t afraid to take chances, and that’s definitely a big plus in LotJ’s favor.
We meet a myriad of Jedi characters, focusing mostly on Avar Kriss, one of the era’s premier Jedi Masters whose particular skills come in handy at Hetzal and the trials afterwards; Bell Zettifar, a Padawan sure of his place in the Force but struggling in some aspects; He trains under the relentless and humorous Loden Greatstorm, a Twi’lek Master, who I grew quite fond of my the novel’s end; and Elzar Mann, a Jedi Knight being denied the status of Master only because his experimentation with the Force goes a little too far for the Council’s liking, who ended up being my favorite Jedi of all those revealed; Mann and Kriss have a surprisingly deep and long-standing bond together, as well as with Master Stellan Gios, but we don’t spend much time with him here. We meet and interact with even more, from soon to be Starlight Beacon’s Jedi leader, Jora Malli; Sskeer, Trandoshan Master and friend of Jora’s, whose own apprentice stars in the upcoming The High Republic comic; Burrayaga, a young Wookiee Jedi with strong empath skills; Porter Engle, a very old Jedi Master who has retired as a chef, but his formidable skills are seen again when trouble strikes; and a few familiar names and faces, due to the longevity of some of their ages. In this era, the Jedi feel different than the prequels, as they are out amongst the people of the galaxy, just as likely to solve a system-wide disaster as to respond to calls for help from local farmers over little disputes…it ends up making the Jedi feel like how Obi-Wan Kenobi described them to Luke Skywalker, as there is yet to be any corruption or Sith working against them. It’s a lot of fun to see Jedi in this light, being harbingers of justice, trusting in the Force to fly their specially designed ships and other equipment, taking up residence on many different planets via their outpost system, therefore not stuck up in an ivory tower/ away from the people, and also how they are given room to grow in the Force; I hope it’s how we’ll see Rey Skywalker’s efforts pan out as well in the future. For now though, I’m eager to see more of the Jedi like this, especially when each one sees the Force in unique and specific ways, like Bell sees it as a fire inside him, Kriss as a song, and Mann as an ocean, and no one way is more correct than the other, but they are all interesting ways for the characters to connect to the mystical field; it would get real boring real fast to have this many Jedi characters and they all see the Force the same way. How they adapt to and react to the coming challenges, which the book’s finale sets up quite the gauntlet, is something I’m eager to see explored in the rest of the initiative.
Beyond the Jedi, many Republic affiliated characters, from Senators to the Chancellor herself, are also introduced and visited as POVs, while characters from various planets effected by the Emergences, especially Hetzalians, come and go as POV characters as well. I appreciate the depth of the options here, as Soule is able to provide many different perspectives to the problems facing the galaxy with these Emergences, from the scantech who first spots the disaster heading Hetzal’s way, the tech guru who devises a unique way to predict new Emergences, the husbands at the head of the San Tekka clan (yes, distant family of Lor San Tekka!) and their knowledge on hyperspace; the Republic Coalition Forces Admiral Kronara focusing the efforts of the resources the planets of the coalition offer to tackle the catastrophe, to Lina Soh, a Chancellor who truly believes in the good of the Republic, her great works, and the slogan echoing around the galaxy: We are all the Republic. It isn’t simply a snappy line, but it’s a rallying cry for people across the galaxy, spreading the feeling of connectedness and driving the desire to help anyone on any planet, not driving in wedges where grudges fester or showing favoritism to any specific planet; like all of Star Wars, there’s social commentary in it as well, since the slogan rings alongside rallying cries here in the real world against the fascist who took over the White House for 4 years, who offered an excuse for fascist feelings festering in our country to be normalized, while similar situations and outcries expanded across the world, especially with the Black Lives Matter movement coming to prominence when it always should’ve been at the forefront of the current landscape. In the end, the line is a heartening thought and having the galaxy believe in it, and follow through on it in their actions, shows how well an idea like that could begin to work to offer everyone the chance to feel accepted and part of something bigger…which makes the Nihil and their antithesis to the statement such a compelling and dangerous enemy.
The Nihil are a group of marauders and raiders in the Outer Rim, terrorizing the territories by appearing and disappearing seemingly at will, a frightening and effective technique tied to a strange and unique hyperspace technology known as Paths. With chaos affecting the Outer Rim due to the Legacy Run disaster and the Emergences, and the Republic slowly working their way into their terrain, the Nihil attempt to take advantage of the situation and keep the Republic at bay, though their story gets more wrapped up in events than any of their number realize. The book offers plenty of sections devoted to the POV of the Nihil, mainly focused on their leadership, which is made up of three Tempest Runners, which basically run three independent factions within the Nihil, and then the Eye of the Nihil, whose place in decisions arises from their ability to provide the group with the mysterious Paths. Marchion Ro, the Eye of the Nihil who inherited the position of his father, might be my favorite character of the novel, as his ability to adjust his methods to achieve his very own specific goals is both compelling and frightening to watch unfold; he reminds me of the other ‘villains’ in Soule’s previous original novels, specifically Anyone: A Novel, as he writes them as deep, complex characters with their own motivations, as they truly see themselves as the heroes of their own stories. The Tempest Runners, Kassav Milliko, Lourna Dee, and Pan Eyta all provide unique and often entertaining perspectives to being the Nihil that leaves the group still feeling villainous, but offers a more nuanced portrayal than we normally get in Star Wars with factions like the Empire and First Order; Lourna Dee is my favorite of the three, for her stealth focused ship, ruthlessness, and practicality. There was a lot of concern leading up to the release that the Nihil were perpetuating a stereotype with having the Nihil be made up of all non-human members of the galaxy, but both Light of the Jedi and A Test of Courage reveal there are a number of humans within the organization as well; it’s still proportionally stacked towards non-humans, but the galaxy’s feelings towards the Nihil aren’t born from an anti-non-human standpoint (yet), but rather from their actions and involvement with the disasters wrecking the galaxy. It’s still something to watch as the initiative unfolds, but without trying, LotJ addresses some of those concerns. Regardless, the path (sorry not sorry) the Nihil end up on by the end of the book promises quite the significant and troublesome threat going forward. Beyond them, the novel ends with hints at an even larger picture of events, suggesting the scope of the initiative will be more expansive than we imagined/they’ve been telling us.
And now, the SPOILERS are coming!
Click below if you’re really sure you want to dive into spoiler territory…
Here are a few other things:
- We have a page dedicated to The High Republic, which is where you’ll find all our reviews, news articles, and a list of what content is yet to come. I’ll cover that below, but you can always refer to our THR page in the future!
- Prior to The High Republic’s release, hints and teases were hidden across the canon and we’ve complied as many as we could find or recognize!
- After Light of the Jedi, there are plenty of The High Republic stories to enjoy! Also releasing today, January 5, are: A Test of Courage, the middle-grade novel from Justina Ireland, and I have a review up of that already as well!; The Great Jedi Rescue, written by Cavan Scott, is a young readers retelling of LotJ. On January 6, the first issue of Scott’s The High Republic comic from Marvel releases, and is a monthly on-going from there. Claudia Gray’s young adult novel Into the Dark drops February 2, which I’m currently reading and will have a review for on release day. And Daniel José Older’s The High Republic Adventures from IDW comics arrives on February 21, and will be a monthly on-going as well; IDW will have a backup story in its #6 issue of their mainline (our February 17) which will take place in THR era. Further out, June 29 sees the release of the second adult novel, The Rising Storm, by Scott.
- Much further beyond that, there’s of course the upcoming TV show The Acolyte, set at the end of the era, which seems to be about 50 years or so before The Phantom Menace (so 150 years after LotJ), according to a video about an upcoming Chinese specific novel for The High Republic, with no word if other audiences will get a chance to read it.
- Also, check out the new content revealed in January 4’s livestream launch, like the next round of novels, a glimpse of Lina Soh, and when Phase 1 will end!
- I was a real big fan of how LotJ offered little ways this era already can connect to the prequels and beyond. For example, the Jedi use the “mind touch” to persuade others, but Elzar Mann, the slightly unorthodox Jedi I mentioned earlier, calls it the “mind trick” to be a little more honest with what they are doing, as a nice nod/wink on how it becomes known that way by the prequels; I liked Avar Kriss’ reasoning and defense of using the mind touch, as well. Likewise, bacta has just been discovered and production of it in vast quantities hasn’t quite happened yet, an intriguing detail considering its wide-spread usage in the films we know. I look forward to finding more of the little, and eventually much larger, connections that other stories might wiggle in!
- And lastly, if you really enjoyed the novel, or just want some good, thought-provoking sci-fi, I highly suggest Soule’s two original novels, Anyone, as I mentioned earlier, and The Oracle Year.
The High Republic – Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule is the opening jolt a big, expansive initiative like The High Republic needed, building out the era organically, introducing a ton of its cast and story, and preparing us for the rest of the initiative. If you were on the fence about The High Republic, LotJ should assuage any lingering doubts; if you’ve been hyped for the project, it’ll live up to expectations; and if you’re looking for a great place to jump into Star Wars books in general, you couldn’t ask for a better place to land.
+ Opens the era wide open with an exciting jolt
+ Jedi like you always imagined them to be, lots of variety in how they see the Force
+ Great pace, compelling and thrilling story
+ Nihil leave quite the impact, my favorite being Marchion Ro
+ Lack of main character allows Soule to explore the era from all POVs
– A little clarity on Nihil’s make-up, but not clear enough
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
DISCLOSURE: I received a copy of this book from the publisher at no charge in order to provide a review. However, this did not affect the overall review content. All opinions are my own.